THE CALIFORNIA CLOSETS MAGAZINE
The moment you step inside the Spanish colonial house turned-office of Jeremiah Brent Design in Los Angeles’ Beverly Grove neighborhood, stress just melts away. While the energy-cleansing selenite crystals from Brent’s wedding reception — he married fellow interior designer Nate Berkus five years ago — and the scent of Santa Maria Novella Pot Pourri certainly help create the serene space, it’s Brent’s welcoming smile and humble nature that bring the spirit of the office to life. “I really wanted the space to be a design lab where people came together, had ideas, and everybody had a spot at the table — literally,” Brent says.
Brent’s team kicks off its shoes and gathers in this relaxed meeting space daily, often sinking into the cream couches. The room is filled with natural light and centered around a Paxton entertainment center designed by California Closets, which the team uses to video conference with its New York office.
Collegiality mixed with collaboration make Brent and his team more like family than a group of co-workers, and that’s exactly what he hoped the space would foster. The second-floor office showcases some of his trademarks, such as a tight color palette with heavy texture, that are recognizable from the TLC show “Nate & Jeremiah By Design” and the Nate + Jeremiah Collection in Living Spaces. The office also reflects his staff’s design preferences, making it comfortable for all. “Life’s too short,” he says. “It’s not hard to make people feel good about where they’re working and how they’re working. It really isn’t.”
On an average workday, the main table in Brent’s office is layered with fabrics, papers and empty iced coffee containers. “It’s the epicenter of creativity,” Brent says. But at the end of each day, the table is impeccably cleared, creating a clean slate for the next day.
Aptly named the materials library, this small light-flooded room takes its cue from nature, including freshly cut flowers on display daily, to make Brent’s clients feel at ease.
Well, my home’s different because it’s the story of my husband and me and our children, Poppy (4) and Oskar (1). Our house is a blend of us. My husband loves things. I joke that he’s a fancy hoarder and he loves objects, whereas I’m always editing the objects down.
I thought the kitchen was going to be that place, because I love the ceremony of dinner and I love to cook. But it wound up being the floor of our kids’ playroom. We spent so many days on that floor. We’re going through a move, and I got so emotional the first time I saw it empty because empty is the last word that I would ever have used to describe that room. It was always full of laughter, sounds, toys and playing.
Handcrafted drawer dividers allow for the organization
of every aspect Brent’s team needs to design a project — from fabric swatches to samples of various surfaces.
I like to get up before everyone is awake and have about two hours where I am just alone. I make a pot of coffee that’s stronger than anybody will enjoy except for me. I meditate for about 30 minutes. Then I just relax, wake up (a little bit more), spend some time on my computer because my office in New York is up and moving. But it’s that quiet time when the house smells a certain way that is so lovely. That time is deeply important to me.
I have my favorite designers, but for me, it’s always about nature and the experience of travel — particularly seeing the way people live because I’m always fascinated with it. One of the chicest homes I’ve ever been in was this mud hut in Peru. I’ll never forget it because you walked in and it wasn’t fancy by any means, but they lived so beautifully. They had this one piece of cloth tacked up on their wall, which was just a remnant piece of fabric, but the way they did it was so pretty because it was beautiful to them. I remember thinking, ‘That’s what beauty is.’ It’s the confidence to showcase not only your style, but who you are in a way that really resonates."
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